In-Patient Mortality among PLHIV: A 7-Year Hospital-Based Retrospective Study in Coastal South India

Background: With the wide usage of highly active antiretroviral therapy, the morbidity and mortality due to HIV have declined gradually. The aim of our study was to determine the cause of mortality among HIV-infected patients and the factors causing early death. Methods: Using medical records of 73 inpatients who are dead, data were collected and analyzed using SPSS version 19 (IBM SPSS Statistics). Chi-square test was performed to determine the factors contributing to early death. A P value <.05 was considered significant. Results: Among 73 deaths, 50 (68.5%) were AIDS related and 23 (31.5%) were non-AIDS related. The most common opportunistic infection causing death was Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia. Early deaths were strongly attributed to low CD4 counts at admission (<100 cells), antiretroviral therapy-naive status, late presentation, and fewer admissions (P value <.05). Conclusion: Although AIDS-defining illness remains the main cause of death in HIV, there is significant number of deaths due to non-HIV-related causes.